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Yet however good the working relationships,<br />
as a political appointment there was the<br />
understanding that your role was more<br />
temporary than the Officials’ often life-long<br />
civil service careers. On the day that Geoff<br />
Hoon resigned and before Lord Adonis<br />
was appointed (and re-appointed me) I was<br />
struck by how civil servants see politicians<br />
and advisors come and go, and whilst<br />
personal relationships build, the system is<br />
unsentimental. As I packed my boxes and<br />
made ready to leave, a stream of visitors<br />
dropped by my office to say goodbye and tell<br />
anecdotes of the departures of Ministers and<br />
advisers past, whilst facilities people loitered<br />
subtly to assess how quickly they might get us<br />
(the Ministerial team and advisers) out. When<br />
those facilities people did get my office back in<br />
the run up to the 2010 General Election, I was<br />
left with frustration that we could not continue<br />
what we’d started, compensated by good<br />
friendships and memories of a fantastic job.<br />
claire Macaleese was Special Adviser at the<br />
<strong>Department</strong> for Transport from 2008 - 2010. She is<br />
now a Director at Cogitamus.<br />
March 2013 | THE HOUSE MAGAZINE | 39
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